Stamped metal radiator



June 7,1938. A ALL 2,120,085

STAMPED METAL RADIATOR Filed April 15, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l y M, cum

flllonzq ys.

June 7, 1938. A. P. BALL 2,120,085

STAMPED METAL RADIATOR Filed April 15, 1935 2 Shets-Sheet 2 I12 U61201".- fllber RBaZJ y M, wbwkq.

Hiiorn e ys.

Patented June 7, 1938 PATENT "OFFICE" STAMPED METAL RADIATOR Albert P.Ball, Detroit, Mich,

assignor to Briggs Manufacturing Company,-'Detroit, Mich., a corporationof Michigan Application April 15', 1935, Serial No. 16,322 6 Claims..(Cl. 257139) This invention relates to radiators or'heat exchange unitsadapted particularly for heating or cooling purposes, air conditioningor the like. An object of the invention is to provide a radiator or heatexchange unit which is relatively simple in construction, economical tomanufacture, durable and serviceable in use, and effective to provide amaximum area of direct heat conducting and radiating surface without, as

t'iveness and ornamental appearance.

A further. object of the invention is to provide a radiator which may bereadily and economically pressed or formed,from sheet metal, containinga minimum number of easily formed stampings or parts, and combining, thedesired qualities of ornamental appearance and maximum heat exchangeefliciency.

Another object of the invention is to provide a radiator or heatexchange unit, preferably stamped or pressed from sheet metal andembodying but three major parts, and-wherein inner and outer double-Wallheat conducting-and radiating surfaces are provided, the. inner'surfacesbeing adapted to have approximately the area of the outer surfaces.

V A further object of the invention is to provide a radiator which maybe composed of inner and outer shells, the outer shell being formed fromduplicate stampings and the inner shell b eingv in the form of anelongated open ended sleeve or tube enclosed by but having its wallsspaced from the walls of the outer shell whereby inner and outerdouble-wall heat conducting and radiating surfaces are provided.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and appended claims when considered in connectionwith the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification.

Fig. 1 is an exploded view, in perspective, illustrating the componentparts of a radiator embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the radiator with the parts assembled.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through line 33 of Fig. 2 in thedirection of the arrows.

Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse sectional; views taken respectively throughlines 44 and 5-5 of Fig.2 in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation in perspective,-illustrating a partly formedblank for inner shell.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation illustrating a pair of radiator unitsconnected together by piping.

heretofore, sacrificingfdesired qualities of attrac producing the v,

' Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and arrangement. of parts illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced orcarried out in various ways. Alsoit is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and itis not intended to limit the claimed invention herein beyondtherequirements of the prior art. It .is also understood that the termradiator is used herein in a generic sense to comprehend heat exchangedevices utilized for heating, cooling, air-conditioning, etc, and thatthe invention is susceptible of a variety of uses readily apparent tothose skilled in. the art.

-Referring to the drawings wherein there is illustrated, by way ofexample, a present preferred embodiment of theinvention, it will be seenthat the radiator or heat exchange unit may, if desired, be composed ofthree major pieces or parts, each preferably stamped or pressed fromsheet metal. Any suitablemetal having the desired characteristics ofheat conductivity and radiation may be utilized, such, for example, assheetsteel, aluminum, copper and their alloys. In the present embodimentthe radiator comprises an outer shell or casing composed of duplicatestamped or pressed metal panels A and an inner sleeve-like casing orshell B which may economically be formed from a single metal blank.These parts are preferably welded together along their juxtaposed edges35 thereby forming between the walls of the inner and outer shells orcasing a closed fluid chamber or passage, While at the same time theconstruction is such-as to provide inner and outer doublewall heatconducting and radiating surfaces exposed to the surrounding atmosphere.

The panels or casing members A are each. stamped from a flat sheet metalblank to provide an outer wall l0 which may be embossed within its areaat II and I2 in accordance with 45 provide upper and lower semi-circularnotches l8 and II. The juxtaposed notches of the two panels A, when thepanels are assembled, mate to form circular inlet and outlet openingsfor the reception of pipe couplings. In the present example upper andlower pairs of openings I! are shown although it is understood that theradiator may be provided with a single inlet and a single outletopening. The upper and lower horizontal flanges I are, in the presentinstance, cut away or' recessed along the lines l8 and N (Fig. 1) so asto embrace and conform to the con-. tour of the 'terminaledges of theinner sleeve or casing B when the parts are assembled together.

' The inner shell or casing B is preferably formed from a single metalblank which may be bent upon itself at 20 to provide spaced parallelwalls 2| forming a sleeve-like member having a continuous passage 22therethrough. In the present instance this passage extends in a verticaldirection. The terminal side edges of the walls 2| 4 are flangedinwardly into abutting relation and are butt-welded along the verticalline 23, thus forming a continuous walled sleeve which is open at itstop and bottom.

The metal blank, from which the sleeve Biis formed, is preferablyprovided before the folding operation with a series of rib-forminggrooves of channels 24 corresponding in relative location to the groovesor channels l3 in the outer panels when the parts are assembledtogether.

In assembling the sleeve-like shell B with the outer panels, it will beseen that the upper and lower edges 25 of the sleeve fit snugly withinthe recessed portions I8 and IQ of the outer panels, these portionsbeing cut to conform to the configuration of the sleeve. tinuouslywelded to the edges Iii-and IQ of, the outer panels as indicated at.26in Fig. 3. The abutting edges of the panels A are also continuouslywelded along the lines 28 and 29 ,as indithereof.

cated in Figs. 2 and 4. In this manner, therefore, the panels A arecontinuously welded together along their abutting edges and along theupper and lower edges 25 of the inner shell-to provide a fluid tightjacketed casing. The openings |6 and I1 in the outer casing, afterassembly, are' fitted with suitable tapped pipe couplings "30 which maybe welded in place around the marginal edges of the openings.

With reference to Figs. 3, 4 and 5., it will be seen that the interiorlydirected ribs l3 of the outer casing are normally spaced from thewallsof the sleeve B by means of the grooves 24 which provide sufiicientclearance t6 permit the un'ob- 'structed passage of fluid between thewalls of the outer and inner shells. Theribs 13 not only provide adesirable ornamental appearance to the 'unit but also increase the heatconducting and radiating surfaces of the outer, shell. In

like manner, the rib-forming grooves 24 of theinner shell B increase theradiating surfaces In the present embodiment the parallel inner andouter walls of the members A and B are secured together at a suitablecommon point, preferably centrally thereof, so as to prevent buckling orbulging of the walls. This is accomplished in the present instance byinterrupting the groove 24a of the inner shell B to provide a centralrelief 3|. As a consequence, when the parts are assembled together, theinner face of the central rib |3a of each outer panel will abut againstthe flat ungrooved or.relief portion 3| of each inner The edges 25 arecon-.

wall 2|, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. portions of the walls III and 2| atthe locality I The abuttin of the area 3| are pierced to provide alinedapertures 32. The walls Ill and 2| are continuously welded at 33 aroundthe marginal edges of. the apertures 22 and these apertures may beclosed and the walls of the inner and outer shells rigidly anchoredtogether by means of a through rivet or bolt '34 carrying a spacer 50overlapping and abutting against the inner faces of the walls 2| aroundthe marginal edges of the apertures 32,.

as shown in Fig. 5.

With reference to Fig. 6, it will be seen that the inner sleeve-likeshell B may be produced, if desired, from a single blank 35 which may bepressed and outlet piping 31 and 38 connected to the threaded couplings30 as illustrated in Fig. 7. If desired, particularly for use asdomestic units, the radiator may be utilized as a single individualunit, in which case a lesser number of openings l6 gr I! and couplings30 may be'provided in the um From the foregoing it will be seen that,the outer and inner shells provide substantially parallel walls whichare spaced apart to form a fluid chamber or fluid passages 38 betweenthe walls 2| and the walls 20 as particularly illustrated in Figs. 4 and5. Since each of these walls has one inner surface thereof forming awall of the fluid chamber and, therefore, in heat exchange relation withthe fluid flowing therethrough, it will the inner walls 2| which thusprovide radiating I surfaces. The unit, therefore, is composed of innerand outer double-wall radiating surfaces,

the inner surfaces. being nearly as co-extensive in area as the outersurfaces and thereby materially increasing the heat exchange efficiencyof the device.

1. A sheet metal radiator comprising an inner sleeve-like shell, anouter shell enclosing the same and composed of duplicate stampingswelded together along their abutting edges and also along edges abuttingthe sleeve to form a fluid chamber between the shells and an air passagethrough the inner shell.

2. A sheet metal radiator comprising an inner sleeve-like shell, anouter shell enclosing the same and composed .of duplicate stampingswelded together along their abutting edges and also along. edgesabutting the sleeve to form a fluid chamber between the shells and anairpassage through the inner shell, said inner shell comprising a sheetmetal blank folded upon it- 2,120,085 self and welded along the meetingedges of the' folds.

3. A heat exchange unit comprising a flat open-ended central tube, aflat outer shell surrounding the tube and secured to its ends, andreenforcing means connected to the shell and extending across the tube.

4. A; heat exchange unit comprising a flat open-ended central tube, aflat outer shell surrounding the tube and secured to its ends, spacingmeans between the sides of the central tube, portions of the shell andthe central tube being in contact with each other adjacent the spacingmeans on both sides of the unit, and reenforcing means extending acrossthe tube and through holes in the parts of the tube and shell in contactwith each other.

5. A sheet metal radiator comprising an inner sleeve-like shell, anouter shell enclosing the same and composed of a pair of stampingswelded together along their abutting edges and also along abutting edgesof the sleeve to form a fluid chamber between the shells and an airpassage through the inner shell.

6. A sheet metal radiator comprising an inner sleeve-like shell, anouter shell enclosing the same and composed of a pair of stampingshaving opposed angular peripheral flanges welded together along theirmeeting edges, the line of weld being interrupted along portions at thetop and bottom ends of the radiator, said opposed flanges along saidportions having relieved sections abutting the edges of the sleeve andwelded thereto to form a fluid chamber between the shells and an airpassage through the inner shell.

ALBERT P. BALL.

